Pricing and availability
The new iCare HOME 2 for the USA market is available at Enlivened.com now. The MSRP price is $3195. Enlivened.com offers generous discounts to FitEyes members.
HOME vs HOME 2
The current HOME model will continue to be a viable choice for new purchases (and Enlivened offers big discounts on that model for FitEyes members). If you already have an iCare HOME, you can continue to use it for many years with confidence. The HOME 2 does not make your current tonometer obsolete.
Also, if any FitEyes members decide to upgrade to the HOME 2, buying a used HOME from a trusted person is a good option to save money. I think this is good for the community. Those of you who buy a new tonometer, please consider selling your old one to a FitEyes member at a fair price.
Rx Requirement
Regarding the need for a prescription, in the distant past, FitEyes members were sometimes encouraged to get a tonometer even when it meant bending rules, because having a tonometer can save your eyesight. But the world has changed. Many, many ophthalmologists will readily write an Rx today, whereas that was not true 15 (or even 5) years ago. Tonometers are much less expensive now and everything is easier.
Some years ago, it was common for most ophthalmologists to be out of touch with the possibilities for safely and reliably performing tonometry at home. Now ophthalmologists are generally aware of at least the iCare home tonometers and are willing to provide a prescription. With that improvement in the situation, we patients have more options to work with the system instead of fighting it. This approach has multiple advantages.
Advantages of Official Support
The advantages include better and easier official support for your tonometer after your purchase, including better warranty coverage. Getting an Rx also reduces your stress because in the USA, iCare home tonometers require a prescription by law.
If your normal eye doctor will not write an Rx for a tonometer, ask the FItEyes community to help you find a legitimate solution. As I said, ignorance and backward thinking should not stand in the way of an educated, motivated, well-intentioned patient taking proper steps to prevent optic nerve damage and potential blindness. The FitEyes community is here to help you find the best solution for any challenges you face.
Fortunately, with the positive changes in the last few years, we almost never have much trouble getting a tonometer Rx now. Enlivened.com has done a lot, and continues to do a lot, to educate ophthalmologists and to advocate for patients.
It is important that FitEyes members have ready access to iCare's warranty services, support and other customer care. Enlivened.com ensures that you have maximum support for your iCare tonometer from the manufacturer as well as from the FitEyes community. Enlivened.com grew out of the FitEyes community, and both Terry and I, while not being employees of Enlivened, are intimately engaged in ensuring that every person who buys or rents a tonometer through Enlivened has the best experience possible. Enlivened.com is part of our community. Be sure to support them.
Enlivened has iCare tonometers available now, including the new iCare HOME 2 for the USA market. Enlivened.com will also offer the best pricing on the HOME 2, as we already do for the current HOME model.
iCare USA Model vs World Model
The iCare HOME 2 for the USA market is not exactly the same device as the iCare HOME 2 available in Europe and other parts of the world. The biggest difference is that the USA version does not display the IOP on the device. However, the new iCare software makes it very easy to see your IOP values immediately in the software. Therefore, the difference is not significant for most people. The IC-200 professional model does display the IOP directly on the device, and it is available in the USA, but given the price difference, I think the HOME 2 is a smarter option for most people. The core functionality is identical. I have used both and I personally prefer the HOME 2 over the IC-200. But if any of you prefer the IC-200, Enlivened.com can supply those as well. There are several FitEyes members who own the IC-200 and are very happy with it.
Getting Your Eye Doctor On Board
Enlivened also makes it very easy for your physician to write you a tonometer prescription. Enlivened.com provides a turnkey online platform for your physician. It allows them to provide the Rx online as well as support you to quickly and cost effectively get your tonometer.
If you are the first patient getting a home tonometer through your doctor, you may have to educate them. I encourage you to do that. It's not as difficult as it used to be because there are good published studies now and many other sources of information that your doctor already has access to -- and these all support your position.
When you introduce your eye doctor to Enlivened.com, not only does that make the entire process of starting home tonometry easy for your doctor, and for you, you are paving the way for other patients of your doctor to more easily follow in your footsteps. In this way, working with your doctor, getting an Rx, and connecting your doctor with Enlivened.com helps other glaucoma patients have an easy and smooth path when they ask for a home tonometer.
Doctors are often concerned about being able to answer a patient's questions about home tonometers, particularly if that doctor does not have much experience working with home tonometry. They are also concerned about being overwhelmed by questions. Enlivened.com addresses this directly by training and educating doctors. Enlivened also has Patient Advisors who support you and relieve your doctor and their staff of this burden. Furthermore, Terry and I are part of that support team. While neither of us are Enlivened employees, we take great interest in every person who gets a home tonometer. As those of you know who have purchased a tonometer through Enlivened, we are intimately engaged in helping you have a good experience. Our team -- the Enlivened.com team -- has more experience with home tonometry than any other group or organization in the world. We pioneered home tonometry, after all, and we have been engaged in advancing it for 16+ years. For this reason alone, when you are considering renting or buying a tonometer, Enlivened.com should be your first and only choice. And if your doctor needs some encouragement to write you an Rx or to join the Enlivened.com platform (which, incidentally, has zero costs and no obligations for them) I suggest that it is your duty, as a member of the FitEyes community, to try to make those things happen. Help your doctor through the process. (The Enlivened team will help them as well.)
You Can Help Other Glaucoma Patients While Helping Yourself - Please Do!
If you are the first patient of your doctor to get a home tonometer, you can pave the way for every other patient at their medical practice to gain access to this sight-saving approach. Your doctor should be enthusiastically recommending home tonometers to almost every glaucoma patient. They are not (yet) simply because they have not had the first patient who allowed them to start directly experiencing the benefits of home tonometry. By working with your doctor, including by getting the Rx through your doctor, you are positively impacting the lives of every other glaucoma patient under the care of your doctor.
This comment is only visible to logged-in FitEyes members. As promised, I have negotiated an exclusive discount for FitEyes members.
Special FitEyes member discount for iCare tonometers at Enlivened.com:
Rental payments receive a 90% credit towards the purchase price, if you decide to purchase.